This invention relates to human blood processing equipment, and in particular to a device for supporting a blood bag during the process of centrifugation.
It is the usual procedure to collect human blood by drawing it into a plastic blood bag. The blood bag is simply a container formed by sealing two sheets of plastic together. Of course, the sheets of plastic bulge as the bag is filled with blood. Tubes are attached to the bag through openings called ports. Often several ports are provided as needed for the later handling or processing of the blood.
One of the principal techniques used in the processing of blood is to centrifuge it to separate out various density fractions. For this, the blood bag is placed in a a centrifuge and spun at an r.p.m. and for a time necessary to cause the separation of the blood cells and plasma.
It is not uncommon in this centrifugation process for the ports on the blood bag to become inverted and retain a portion of the blood so that it does not mix with the remainder of the blood. Consequently, the blood trapped in the ports contains red blood cells which are dumped into the plasma as the blood bag is removed from the centrifuge. This is undesirable since the plasma is then contaminated by small quantities of red blood cells.
Accordingly, it is the general object of the present invention to provide a device which holds the ports of the blood bag upright so that they do not trap a portion of the blood.
Another object is to provide a frame on which the blood bag may be supported as it is placed into and removed from the centrifuge cup.
Still another object is to provide a strong assembly capable of withstanding the high pressures of centrifugation.
A further object is to provide a support which has no sharp edges to damage the blood bag.
Still another object is to provide a simple device which is readily incorporated into currently accepted blood processing procedures.
These and other objects and advantages of the present invention and the manner in which they are achieved will be made apparent as the following specification and claims progress, taken in conjunction with the drawings which illustrate the preferred embodiment.